


Lasting a Lifetime

by triste



Category: Hikaru no Go
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Genderswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-22
Updated: 2012-11-22
Packaged: 2017-11-19 06:54:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/570446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triste/pseuds/triste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where promises are kept and threats are followed up with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lasting a Lifetime

Title: Lasting a Lifetime  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Hikaru no Go  
Pairing: Akira/Hikaru  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: AU, genderswitch  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine  
A/N: This fic ties in with Grade School Fight, although you don't have to read that to understand this one. They both work as stand alones, I think.

~

Touya isn't a beach-loving person by nature, but that doesn't stop Shindou from dragging her out on a weekend trip. Touya loathes having to cancel prior arrangements without good reason, but Shindou is the epitome of spontaneity. She didn't see anything wrong with turning up on Touya's doorstep at seven-thirty in the morning with train tickets and an overnight bag. She even called the Institute on Touya's behalf to excuse her from the lecture she'd been scheduled to attend that Saturday afternoon.

"You really don't take no for an answer, do you?" Touya says tiredly, wondering why she's even bothering to give voice to the question when she already knows the answer.

"And you need a break," Shindou replies sweetly. "Besides, the weather is nice. You can't waste it by spending all your time indoors."

"I had a very important commitment!" insists Touya. "I can't believe you phoned the organisers to tell them I was sick!"

"A little white lie never hurt anyone," breezes Shindou. "Come on, help me pick out a good spot."

It's pointless even trying to argue so Touya simply sighs and follows. Shindou takes a while to find a piece of territory they can temporarily claim as their own, but she eventually finds a little patch of sand she seems satisfied with. Touya lays out a blanket while Shindou goes off to borrow one of the large umbrellas for shade. Touya appreciates this, because she's never enjoyed being out in the sun for too long. She's always considered herself as being naturally pale, but Shindou blames her fair skin on a life spent in poorly lit go salons.

"Just like plants, people need sunshine," Shindou would always say. "You're going to end up being a wrinkly old hag like Kuwabara-sensei before your time, you know, with your boobs hanging around your ankles and leering at underage children and stuff."

Touya finds this very insulting, both to herself and to Kuwabara, but Shindou seems to find it hilarious. Touya would accuse her of being rude and disrespectful towards one of the leading go authorities, but then she's heard some of Ogata's less than savoury comments regarding the Honinbou when she doesn't think anyone is listening. 'Wrinkly old hag' is practically polite in comparison.

In any case, as much as Shindou makes sport of poking fun at Touya on occasion, she herself is far from body shy, something that she proves immediately upon her return by shimmying out of her denim hotpants and shrugging off the green hoodie with 'GO! GO! LET’S GO!' printed across the front. The yellow bikini she's been wearing underneath is cute and sporty and Touya can grudgingly admit that it suits Shindou. She also fills it out fairly well, which leaves Touya with something else to feel grudging about.

"Hurry up and get changed," urges Shindou, "then we can go for a swim!"

"I'm not swimming," says Touya. "You can, if you like. I'll stay here."

"You can't come to the beach and not go in the water," pouts Shindou.

"I only came because you gave me no other choice," Touya reminds her. "Don't ask for too much, Shindou, or else you will get nothing."

"All right," Shindou relents, "but at least change. I feel hot just looking at you."

It's embarrassing to take off her clothes in public view, even though she has her bathing suit on underneath, but Shindou taps her foot impatiently until Touya reluctantly unbuttons her long-sleeved blouse and slips out of her long skirt. Touya doesn't see anything wrong with the navy blue one piece she chose for the trip, although she immediately gets self-conscious when Shindou starts snickering.

"That's the kind of thing a grade schooler would wear! All you need now is a tag on the front saying which class you belong to!"

Touya scowls and seats herself on the blanket with as much dignity as she can muster, and Shindou grins in good nature as she takes out the sun block from the basket they've brought with them, taking the time to rub it in thoroughly. She's surprisingly meticulous about these things as she proves when she tosses the bottle over for Touya to use and then steps back to begin her stretching exercises. Touya only half-listens to her repetitive "one-two-three-four" chants but she can easily recall hearing and seeing Shindou doing the same routine sometimes during lunch break at the Go Institute. Touya has never asked why she does it. She just accepts it without question as one of Shindou's various quirks.

"I'll see you in a bit," says Shindou, once she's done with warming up, and Touya clears her throat.

"Watch out for jellyfish," she says, somewhat awkwardly. "You don't want to get stung."

Shindou looks surprised for a second, but then her expression softens into a happy little smile. "Okay," she says, and gives Touya a wave before heading off for the water.

Touya busies herself by applying sun block and then taking out a book to read, but she glances up at regular intervals to see what Shindou is doing. She's too far away for Touya to get a proper view of her, but regardless of that, there's no mistaking those bright blonde bangs, even from a distance. Touya feels a tug of guilt and wonders if it was wrong of her to turn down her earlier offer. It probably isn't much fun for Shindou to be swimming on her own like that, especially when Touya notes the people around her laughing and joking as they splash around and bat beach balls back and forth to one another.

A clean, sterile pool is one thing, but the ocean is altogether different. Touya knows how to swim but, like most sports, it isn't the kind of activity she enjoys. What's more, she's far from physically fit. Sitting in front of a go board for hours on end doesn't really keep a person healthy and in top condition, but Touya has never minded that. Shindou is different, but then she always has been. She still plays soccer from time to time, still hangs out with old friends on the basketball court, and even makes disastrous attempts at ice-skating when she feels the need to be more adventurous. She's still in good shape, as Touya can attest to after spending years of chasing after her both literally and metaphorically, and Shindou can outrun Touya with very little effort when there's something she doesn't want to confront.

Shindou's secrets aside, it's no wonder she'd show off her body with it looking like that. She's tanned and slender, but not too thin, and again Touya thinks about how different they are as she looks down at her own pale arms. Shindou probably has a point when she says that skipping meals between matches isn't good, but long-term habits are hard to break. It's never affected Touya's game play, so she's never considered it as anything particularly negative before, but then she thinks about her parents' frequent trips abroad and how she usually lives on Ichikawa's care parcels, take out and convenience store boxed lunches when they're gone and gets another guilty pull.

Touya is grateful that Shindou is around during the absence of her parents, although she never admits to it. Shindou always makes a face whenever she sees Touya's shop-bought lunches and pesters her mother into packing extra portions so that she can share them. Shindou's mother, while being oblivious to the world of go and its appeal, is a wonderful cook, and she fusses over Touya ever time she visits the Shindou residence. 'Eat more food' seems to be the Shindou family motto, at least when Touya is around, but it's really rather touching how Shindou's mother will go to so much effort to care for a daughter that isn't even her own.

Judging by the contents of the basket Shindou brought along, her mother is the one who prepared their afternoon meal. Touya peeks inside it to see sandwiches and watermelon slices wrapped carefully in cling film, and there's even some of Shindou's favourite chocolate cake. Touya likes it too, but having a sweet tooth is something else she'll never admit to.

It turns out Touya has good timing, because Shindou chooses that moment to return. Touya hands her a towel to dry off with and then a bottle of water to stop her from getting dehydrated after all that moving around in the sun.

"Thanks," says Shindou breathlessly, after gulping down her drink, and then her eyes light up when she catches sight of the cake. Touya shakes her head in bemusement and takes it as a sign that Shindou is ready to eat. Shindou bypasses the sandwiches and goes straight for the chocolate with the speed and accuracy of a hawk swooping in for the kill, making exaggerated noises of appreciation and wiggling her sand-coated toes in delight as she takes her first bite.

Lunch with Shindou is an enjoyable experience, Touya finds. The food is good, the company is good and, most importantly, she's actually glad Shindou brought her here, although there's still a tiny twinge of insecurity.

"You didn't have to come with me, you know," says Touya. "You could have asked Waya-san or Isumi-san. You could have even asked Hong Suyon. She's still in the country, isn't she?"

"Stupid Touya," Shindou says fondly. "I invited *you*, didn't I? Sure, I like being with Waya and Isumi-san, but I like it when I'm with you more. I'm happy when we're together."

Touya blushes, secretly pleased, but she pretends to be anything but, turning up her nose and saying, "You may have invited me, but you didn't think to make a reservation at an inn first. How troublesome do you think it was to get a room at such short notice?"

"I guess I didn't plan that far ahead," Shindou confesses sheepishly. "I can only do that on a go board, but in real life, I'm a more spur of the moment type person. A similar kind of thing happened when I went to Innoshima. If Kawai-san hadn't gone with me, I'd have ended up sleeping on the streets. That was over two years ago, during Golden Week."

Touya's eyes widen in shock as she quickly processes this new and unexpected piece of information. Shindou does this every now and again, dropping random hints that point towards the solution of the mystery that continues to shroud her, without explaining explicitly what they actually mean.

Innoshima is the birthplace of Shuusaku, this much Touya knows, and it's one piece of the puzzle. Right after Golden Week two years ago is when Shindou nearly gave up on her go, but why she went to Innoshima and what might have happened to her while she was there is still unclear to Touya. Before, just trying to figure out the connection between Shindou and Sai was difficult enough, but now she has Shuusaku to figure into the equation. She still has no idea what links the three of them yet, but Touya can remain confident. Someday, when Shindou is ready, she will tell the truth, but in the meantime she can only offer these tantalising little clues. It's like her way of saying 'wait for me', and Touya will. She'll wait as long as it takes if it's for Shindou's sake.

"Now that I think about it, I forgot to tell you about my grand victory," says Shindou, flopping down onto her side and propping herself up on one elbow. The moment is broken, but Touya isn't complaining. She grants Shindou the space she needs by allowing her to change the subject. Slowly but surely, Touya is learning how to read Shindou and developing the patience required for such a skill.

"Your grand victory?" she prompts, and Shindou nods proudly.

"I told you Suyon is staying with her aunt until the end of next week, right? Well, she brought that Yongha tart with her and she challenged me to a match. 'Let's make it more interesting by having the loser take part in a punishment game,' she said - with Suyon translating, obviously - so of course, I had to agree."

"You didn't have to agree to anything," sighs Touya. "You could have simply refused instead of letting her goad you."

"But that's just it!" claims Shindou. "I won! Okay, so it was close, but I still beat Yongha. I thought she'd chicken out of the punishment thing, but no, she followed through with it, so I made her get down on her knees and say 'Shuusaku is my God' fifteen times. That'll teach her to go around bragging about how superior she is."

"You really made her do that?" asks Touya, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course I did," says Shindou. "It wasn't like she had a problem with it. After all, she was smirking the whole time. She had this stupid, pervy look on her face, and really, she didn't have to kneel so that her face was about half an inch away from my crotch, but anyway, she said what I wanted her to. You should have seen those geezers in the salon, though. Their eyeballs were standing out on stalks."

Touya manages not to sigh again but it takes a lot of restraint to keep from doing so. "Ko Yongha actually respects Shuusaku, you know. She only says that she's weak and useless to get a rise out of you, and it works every single time."

"Nobody is allowed to diss Shuusaku," growls Shindou, "especially not her. Next year is Yongha's last eligible one as a participant of the Hokuto Cup. I'm going to sneak into her hotel room and put toads in her bed, or maybe I'll shave her eyebrows off while she's asleep, or maybe I'll -"

"When you act like that it's like you haven't grown up at all since we first met," Touya interrupts ruefully, but Shindou merely grins instead of taking offence.

"Sure I've grown up," she says, tugging at the strings of her bikini top so that her breasts give a little jiggle. "I didn't have these four years ago."

"You're still as shameless as ever," notes Touya.

"Whatever," grunts Shindou, rolling onto her stomach and using her folded arms as a pillow. "I'm taking a nap."

"You play, you eat and then you sleep," says Touya. "Honestly, you're as bad as a child and as simple-minded to boot."

Shindou gives another grunt and closes her eyes. It doesn't take much longer for her breathing to deepen, and Touya takes advantage of the peacefulness by going back to her book. One of Shindou's elbows is resting against Touya's left knee and Touya can see a small mole just beside it when her eyes flicker briefly in Shindou's direction. There's another mole just above the curve of Shindou's right hip that tempts Touya to reach out and touch it.

After a second's hesitation she does, teasing her fingertips over that tiny marking and feeling how warm and smooth Shindou's skin is. It smells like sea salt and coconut and Touya's fingers trail feather-light along Shindou's spine up to the nape of her neck. Shindou needs a haircut, Touya realises, it's getting longer at the back, but then Shindou stirs and Touya snatches her hand away guiltily.

Shindou sleeps for over an hour, and Touya tries not to look as she wakes and stretches with lazy grace. Shindou gets out the magnetic go board and they play until the sun begins to set. They're arguing over a move that Shindou made halfway through their fourth game (which Shindou insists is brilliant and Touya insists is suicidal) when Touya notices the now-deserted beach.

"It's getting late," she says. "We should leave."

"Now that you mention it, I'm starting to get cold," Shindou complains, rubbing her arms briskly before shrugging back into her hoodie. "It's kind of a shame we quit fighting. All that shouting keeps you warm."

"It keeps you from concentrating on other things, like the drop in your body temperature," Touya corrects, but she thinks she knows what Shindou means. It's almost impossible for Touya to pay attention to anything other than the adrenaline rush that only comes from playing her eternal rival.

They pack their belongings away together, but before Touya can even finish picking up the basket Shindou points an index finger towards the ocean. "Let's go into the water one more time!" she says.

"Are you serious?" says Touya.

"You've been at the beach all day but you never went into the water even once. That's why you're going to do it now."

"I told you I'm not swimming! Besides, it'll be freezing out there!"

"We won't swim, we'll just paddle. Come on!"

The water really is cold when Touya steps into it, and she wishes Shindou weren't so impulsive and insane. Shindou just laughs and kicks some of it over to Touya, drenching the hem of her skirt, so Touya glares and kicks right back. They splash each other until they're both gasping and shivering, and Touya is about to demand that they return to dry land when Shindou suddenly turns to her with a smile that's so breathtakingly beautiful Touya finds herself forgetting what she was about to say.

"Let's go," Shindou says softly as she slips her hand into Touya's, and Touya gives it a small squeeze.

"We're not stopping at any ramen stalls on the way," she warns. "It'll be discourteous to the staff at the inn if we don't eat the meal they prepare for us there."

"I have a cell phone," says Shindou. "I can always order in."

"That would be even ruder," says Touya, but she can't help smiling.

"Then I guess I'll have to rely on my emergency cup ramen rations. Ask me nicely and I'll share some with you."

"Keep snacking on instant food at two in the morning and you'll end up like Kurata-san before you know it."

It's Touya's turn to laugh when Shindou flushes an angry shade of red but it's sweet revenge for what she said before about likening Touya to Kuwabara.

"Fine!" says Shindou. "If you're going to go this far, let's settle things with a game! If you lose I'll make you say 'Shindou Hikaru is my God' five hundred times!"

"And if I win you'll say 'Touya Akira is my God' five hundred times?" asks Touya.

"I'll even wear a bunny girl outfit to my Wednesday morning match at the Institute, but don't get your hopes up," grins Shindou. "I'm going to make you lose and wear a furry tail and kitty ears."

"You sound confident," Touya replies coolly. "I just hope Ko Yongha won't be around to see your new costume when Wednesday comes or that Kosemura-san from the publishing department doesn't take your picture and print it in Weekly Go."

"Not going to happen," says Shindou. "It'll be your picture that gets printed, not mine."

They argue for a while with Shindou making more and more outrageous promises, but they both start laughing again at the sheer ridiculousness of them. Touya highly doubts Shindou will ever dare tie Yongha's hair in pigtails and put clothes pegs on her nipples no matter how much she boasts, just like she herself would rather die than wear anything that comes too high above the knee.

It's only with Shindou who she can be silly with like this. It's only with Shindou that Touya can be her true self. It's a more light-hearted and slightly immature self, but it's an honest and sincere self, and it's one that she doesn't have to hide under an exterior of calm composure. Shindou is the one who lets Touya be this way. She's the only one who can make Touya experience so many different emotions, and right now, with their hands still linked, it's warmth and affection that Touya feels towards Shindou, and maybe even love.

It's the happiness of existing, as Shindou likes to call it, when Touya feels genuinely glad to be alive, when she feels that Shindou and her radiant smiles will be enough to last them both a lifetime.

 

End.


End file.
